Thomas Levy, the Norma Kershaw Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands at the University of California (San Diego), gives a TEDTalk about the convergence of technology and archaeology in the Holy Land. In particular, he explains about “cyber-archaeology”: using the latest tech for visualization, data collection and management, and site analysis. New techniques are pumping out vast amounts [Read More...]

Genetic researchers believe they’ve found evidence that people from Israel, Egypt, or Syria mixed with Ethiopians 3000 years ago. The timing of this appearance of the new DNA coincides with the historical period in which the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. According to legend, the queen returned to Ethiopia bearing Solomon’s son. Professor Chris [Read More...]

A group of Haredi Jews (those typically characterized as “ultra-orthodox” by the media) have placed a giant red billboard beside the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, warning in Hebrew “Dear Jew: You are entering a dangerous place. Shield your eyes.” The words “Shield your eyes” are also written in English. Considering the kinds of speeds people do on [Read More...]

As I mentioned earlier, I spent my morning at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia visiting the touring exhibit Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times. I have to write a news story about it for the National Catholic Register, but I thought I’d give you some quick impressions. First of all: see it. [Read More...]

I’m in Philly visiting the Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times for a story in the National Catholic Register. I’ll post some initial reactions when I return, and a link to the story when it’s published. Here’s the official line: The Franklin Institute’s Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times [Read More...]

I posted on this yesterday, but more information is coming out of Tel Aviv University. First, there’s this excellent picture of the jar’s contents, which date from about 1100BC: Next, there’s a long press release from the University, with more details on the jar, its discovery and analysis, and significance. I’ll embed the whole thing after the [Read More...]

I understand and even share the concerns of the 40,000 Orthodox Jewish men who gathered at Citi Field in New York to discuss the problems of the internet. BBC has a decent video on the event (sorry, no embedding allowed), but too much time is spent with the point-missing counter protesters. Memo to the media: when [Read More...]

It’s amazing that new things are still emerging from Holy Land sites and discoveries. After a hundred years of excavations at Tel Megiddo, archaeologists have just discovered a hidden vessel containing gold and silver jewelry wrapped in cloth. The objects date from about 1100BC, and include a unique gold earring decorated with either ibex or wild [Read More...]